


Tales from Superior City

by EldritchSandwich



Series: Superiorverse [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Fluffy Sandwich, Gen, Romance, Shorts, Slice of Life, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-03-12 04:44:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13539930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldritchSandwich/pseuds/EldritchSandwich
Summary: A collection of short stories starring major and (mostly) minor characters from the other works in the Superiorverse, including 'Powerless' and the 'Flying Fox' series. New entries added as inspiration strikes and new longer Superiorverse stories are released to provide new characters for them. These could take place at any point in the characters' lives, and aren't necessarily in chronological order.Ratings and content will vary by chapter, but some will be sexually explicit. May contain spoilers for other Superiorverse stories.





	1. Venus and Drac: Happy Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venus Flytrap just wants to do something nice for her anniversary with Dracuella. Unfortunately, 'something nice' turns out to be kind of a douchebag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Venus Flytrap and Dracuella first appeared in 'Powerless'.

“Struggle all you want, Headwind,” the gorgeous woman in the green corset and the skirt made of leaves said. “With your hands bound, your powers are useless…”

The handsome, blue-clad superhero grunted as he tried to wrench his hand free from the vines that suspended him off the ground, but it was no use. She was right. Venus Flytrap just smiled.

“Oh, Venus, you got me a present.” Headwind’s attention was drawn to the door of the abandoned warehouse, where a slender woman in skintight black leather with pale skin and bright red lips slinked toward them. Her dangerous grin showed twin fangs glittering in the moonlight, a grin that the botanical mastermind matched as the other woman wrapped a hand around her waist.

“You see, my friend Dracuella here absolutely adores drinking the blood of superheroes. And the moment I saw you snooping around my gardens I realized you were just her type.”

As he looked between the two supervillainesses, Headwind began to chuckle. “Okay, okay yeah, I get it. I’ve heard about you two, I’m down for it, let’s do this…”

Dracuella blinked. “Um...let’s do what now?”

Headwind grinned a leering grin. "Aw, c'mon, everybody knows about you two! You're, y'know, little lesbo playmates or whatever. And now you want a guy to get all kinky with, right? Well c'mon, I'm completely at your mercy..."

Venus Flytrap frowned. "Uh, okay, hold on. I think you're kind of misreading the situation..."

"No, no, I get it! You've got me all wrapped up, there's nothing I can do to stop you from torturing me by watching you make out, talking about how much you want a threesome but you don't let me touch you, then your hot vampire girlfriend's gonna put her mouth all over me..."

Dracuella's nose wrinkled. "Ew! Don't say it like that!"

"C'mon, baby, you can suck me dry..."

"Omigod, gross! Venus, he's making it gross!"

Headwind rolled his eyes. "Hey, c'mon, I know how it is with you lesbo villain types."

Venus scowled. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Headwind shrugged, or as much as he could with the vines tightening around him. "You know, all the skintight outfits and pet names and making out and stuff, it's just to get heroes off and get them into your clutches. It's not, you know, real. You're just trying to get guys' attention."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Venus spat. Headwind yelped in pain as the vines constricted, reacting to her anger. "You homophobic piece of shit!"

Dracuella's hands pressed into her shoulders. "Whoa, babe, calm down..."

"You know, assholes like you are the reason there's so much sexual harassment against female supers, especially queer ones! You think any woman who puts on a costume or learns martial arts or builds a deathray is just doing it because she's so fucking desperate to suck your sad little dick!"

"Grrf...mmmgh..." Headwind retorted, which would probably have been at least marginally more eloquent without the vines constricting his neck.

"Baby, stop! You're gonna kill him, we don't need that kinda heat right now!" Dracuella wrapped her girlfriend in a hug from behind, pulling her close and burying her lips in her curly green hair. Venus' tense body slackened, and so did the vines. Headwind faceplanted against the concrete floor with a thwack, and Dracuella briefly disentangled herself from her lover to lean down and press her fingers to his neck. She sighed. "Well, he's alive."

Venus sighed too. "I'm sorry. I just...I was trying to do something nice for you, and then this asshole had to..."

"Hey, hey!" Dracuella wrapped her arms around Venus, pulling them together into a soft, slow kiss. "It's not your fault."

"I just...I have pheromone powers, I've been hearing that kind of bullshit ever since I started."

Dracuella chuckled. "And you think I haven't? I'm a vampire! You know any parahuman more sexualized than vampires?" Venus rolled her eyes. "Look, who cares what some asshole in a cape thinks? You're a genius, and a master criminal, and...and I love you."

Venus smiled. "I love you too." She leaned in for another kiss, then pulled back and shook her head fondly. "We can chuck him out, I know he was supposed to be your present but I'll understand if after all this you're not in the mood..."

Dracuella laughed. "Oh no, I'm still gonna drink his blood! I'm gonna bite him in the least sexy place I can think of, I'm gonna get charged up on superblood, and then I'm gonna show you just how 'fake' a lesbian I really am..."

Venus giggled as her girlfriend pulled her in for another kiss. "Happy anniversary, baby."

Dracuella grinned, fangs and all. "Happy anniversary."


	2. Kit Fox: Coming Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit comes out to her roommate. No, not as a lesbian, the other thing. No, not as trans, the OTHER other thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katrina "Kit Fox" Papadopolous first appeared in 'Flying Fox and the Vixens'.

Night eight had been a complete success.

When Kit decided to finally take the plunge and be a superhero, things had started out a little rough at first. Certain practical elements of costume design that simply hadn't occurred to her— _kneepads_ —had made nights one through three unnecessarily rough, and some of the gadgets hadn't quite held up as well in the field as she'd been hoping. But she'd had a few nights to get the kinks worked out, and by last night she was actually fighting crime! Well, she'd startled a burglar before he could actually get in the window so it might not have technically been a crime yet, she wasn't a hundred percent sure, but still! And tonight, she'd legitimately stopped a mugging! Like, the guy had the wallet in hand and her taser prod worked perfectly and the victim thanked her and called her a superhero and everything!

So naturally, she had to do something to screw it up.

"Kit? What are you doing up?"

As Lily's bedside lamp clicked on, Kit did the only thing that she could think of; she pulled open the door of the wardrobe and ducked behind it. "Oh! Uh...I was just...I had to go the bathroom, and..."

"What are you doing hiding back there?"

_Shitshitshitshitshit_ , Kit's pulse was racing. Of course her roommate freaking woke up! She should have been more careful! What the hell was wrong with her?

"I, uh...I'm naked. I was changing, and I'm naked, so..."

Lily sighed and threw her feet over the side of the narrow dorm-room bed. "Look, Kit...it's okay if you're not...comfortable with it, but you really don't have to hide from me. I...I know I fucked up with how I reacted when we met, but...you're a girl. I get that." Kit tried to shrink back more as Lily came around the edge of the wardrobe. "And seeing your body isn't going to make me see you as anything other than omigod holy shit what the fuck are you wearing?"

Kit crossed her arms over her chest, as if that was going to make a difference. The giant KB across it was hard to hide, and it wasn't like the gloves and the combat boots and the utility belt weren't a dead giveaway anyway, to say nothing of the freaking mask. "It..." Kit looked at her roommate's penetrating gaze, then sighed and dropped her arms. "It's my costume, okay?"

Lily blinked. "Your...omigod. You're a fucking superhero!"

Kit winced. "Shh! Keep your voice down!"

Lily clapped her hands over her mouth. "Sorry! I just...holy shit! I've never actually met a superhero before!"

Kit frowned. "Yeah well don't get too excited, I've only been doing it for like a week."

Lily looked at her expectantly. "And? Come on, what's your name, what are your powers?"

Kit sighed and dropped down onto her bed, Lily excitedly scrunching up beside her. "I'm called...Kitbash."

Lily blinked. "I...don't get it. Like...because you bash people?"

"No, it means...look, if you got into Warhammer like I said you'd think it was really clever. And I don't have powers, I make gadgets out of like, scraps and stuff. That's kind of what the name means."

"Wow." Lily looked down at her red and brown outfit. "And you...made that out of scraps too?"

Kit flinched. "It's a work in progress, okay? I just...need to learn to sew a little better, and..."

"Are you kidding? What you need is to get your roommate and confidante to make you one!"

Kit's eyes went wide. "Wait. What?"

"Come on! You're an engineering major. I'm a _theater_ major! Making a superhero uniform, that's like...that's like the height of costuming!"

Kit smiled. "You...you really want to help me?"

"Yeah, of course! Let's do it right now! Like, what do you want, do you like the look you've got now, or do you want something a little more, you know...fancy?"

Kit licked her lips. "I don't know, I was...thinking maybe a skirt, but most superheroine skirts are so short, for mobility, and I was worried about, you know...the bulge..."

"No, you look great in skirts! And they make special panties for trans girls, right? To hide that? We can totally go with a skirt! And how about like a jacket? You know, something with more room for pockets for gadgets and stuff?"

"Yeah, maybe...with a hood?"

Lily looked back over her shoulder as she rooted around on her desk for her sketchpad. "A hood? Why a hood?"

Kit smiled sheepishly. "There's just this...hero I really like who wears one. Flying Fox. She operates near campus, I guess I...I mean honestly, I think it'd be kind of cool to be her sidekick." As Lily scratched at her sketchbook, Kit turned to study her. "Lily?"

"Hm?"

"I just want to say...thanks. I know...having a trans roommate can be a little awkward, and now you've got a trans superhero roommate, and..."

"Hey!" Lily leaned over to cut her off with a one-armed hug. "I don't have a trans superhero roommate. I have a trans superhero _best friend_."

Kit blinked. "I...really?"

Lily grinned. "What do you think?"

"Thank you."

Lily just winked at her. "And you know, you want a hood, we can give you a hood. Oh...in fact, we can do a hood with ears. You want to work with this Flying Fox? You can be Kit Fox! It's perfect!"

Kit smiled, blinking back tears as Lily kept sketching. _Yeah. Perfect._ "Kit Fox. I like the sound of that."


	3. Silver Fox: Foreplay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vicky comes home from a good night's work and gives her husband a little after-action report. Well, maybe more like a BEFORE-action report...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Victoria "Silver Fox" Alonzo first appeared in 'Flying Fox and the Vixens'.

Like any American city of its size, Superior City had its share of suburbs. Most of them weren't as prosperous as they once were; the recent revitalization projects downtown had led to more residential prospects in the heart of city, which had in turn led to pretty good deals on what would otherwise have been on the larger and more ostentatious end of cookie-cutter suburban homes. This one was in what had formerly been a gated community called Spencer Hills, before the membership in the neighborhood association had slowly started to contain fewer of the kinds of people who A) could afford and B) wanted the headache of private security. Now it was a comfortably middle-class suburb, the kind that was just far enough from the twenty-four-hour hustle of the city to give its white-collar residents a quiet night's sleep without interruption.

Well, unless said citizen was Dave Alonzo, whose sleep could routinely be interrupted by the sound of the bedroom door creaking open and a blonde in a silver corset and platform boots coming home for the night.

As her husband looked up and turned on the lamp, Vicky smiled. "Sorry, I was trying to be quiet."

Dave smiled, grabbing his glasses from the end table and sitting up. "I don't mind. Any excuse to look at the outfit..."

Vicky shook her head with a wry laugh as she shut the door behind her, turning around and bending at the waist to untie her silver boots, the motion making her well-maintained back end press against her gray tights. Dave grinned, then even harder as Vicky straightened up with a raised eyebrow. "See something you like?"

"Every day since I was twenty one." As Vicky approached the bed, Dave's smile turned nostalgic. "You know if someone told me when I locked eyes with that leggy blonde at a frat party that forty years later she'd be not only be my wife, but a superhero, I would've said they were crazy."

Vicky chuckled. "I probably would have agreed."

"So, how was your night?"

"Oh, it was a fun one..." Dave straightened his legs, allowing Vicky to climb astride his lap. "We fought a themed gang...and their theme was swimming."

Dave's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Mm. Bunch of sleek, muscular, shaved young men in Speedos and swimcaps raiding a pharmacy. Shame all my girls prefer girls, or they might have really enjoyed it."

"Seems like you really enjoyed it," Dave said with a smile as his wife's hips began to roll atop his lap. "And you know I'd love to hear about it, so..."

"They called themselves 'Backstroke.' We were the first ones on the scene; Kit Fox killed the lights, and Arctic Fox laid down a layer of ice under their feet without them even noticing. Then I sidled up next to them out of the darkness and said..." She leaned forward with a sensual pout, and purred "'If you boys are looking for a pick-me-up I'd be glad to help...'"

Dave grunted. "And what did they do?"

Vicky grinned. "They took one look at the tight spandex wrapped around my firm, muscular body, and they knew I was a hero who could grind their cute little Speedos under my bootheel..." Dave groaned softly as she ground down against him at the same time. "They moved to attack, muscles rippling, and I just knew I was about to be part of a whirlwind of punches and grabs...and sweat...and pain...and it felt so good..."

Dave licked his lips, mustache bristling as he reached back for the zipper on Vicky's faux corset. "Did it? You liked thinking about the action?"

"Ooh, yes...the first one tried to make a grab at me, but he slipped on the ice and I caught him by the arm...and I wrenched it behind his back and slammed him face-first into the wall..." Dave sighed as Vicky grabbed a fistful of his thinning hair, shoving his head back against the head of the bed. "I could feel him writhing against me, muscles bulging as he tried to break free, but my grip was too strong. I could hear the battle raging behind me as he dropped to the floor, heroines and villains grappling, ice and electricity flying, the air filled with the smell of sweat and wrath..."

Dave grabbed Vicky and pulled her in for a kiss. "I love it when you talk dirty."

As Dave threw off the sheets and reached for the waist of her costume, Vicky laughed. "You have the weirdest fetish."

Dave smirked. "Me? I'm not the one in the tights!"

Vicky leaned back with a coy smile. "You don't like the tights? Get me out of them."

Dave jumped on top of his wife with a grin. Yes, Spencer Hills was the kind of neighborhood where you could always count on getting a quiet, uninterrupted night's sleep...unless you didn't want to.


	4. Cowgirl: It's Not a Sex Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cowgirl has a run-in with her archnemesis. Well, technically she has a run-in both with a recurring supervillain and with her actual archnemesis: people reading too much into things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clara "Cowgirl" O'Malley first appeared in 'Flying Fox'.

It was an uncharacteristically warm night for March in Superior City, and that meant that everyone was out in force. Loving couples and dogwalkers and kids hanging out, sure, but also heroes and villains. After all, wearing a skimpy costume was a lot more fun when it wasn't freezing out.

Not that Clara's costume was skimpy. Sure it bared her stomach and some cleavage and the insides of her thighs (on account of the chaps), but other than that it was a fairly modest little cowgirl outfit, hat and all. Most of her friends' were far more revealing, in fact, not that she minded; it was part of the business.

"Help! Somebody, help!"

The other part of the business, of course, was beating the crap out of criminals.

Clara rounded the corner into an alley and found herself face to face with an image that was almost cliche; a man with a knife threatening a well-dressed woman for her purse. The man turned toward the sound of her bootheels on the pavement, the kinfe turning in her direction just in time for Clara’s lasso to whip out, looping around his wrist and yanking him down to his knees as the knife went flying. The mugger looked up to find the redheaded superhero grinning down at him.

"Howdy. Name's Cowgirl. Seems like y'all bit off more than you bargained for, don't it?"

The mugger looked up at her and grinned. "No. It don't."

Clara just barely had the time to realize the woman being mugged was no longer cowering against the wall before she felt the sting of a rope wrapping around her neck. Her gloved hands rose on reflex to keep herself from being strangled, which meant she not only had to release her own rope but forfeit any chance to strike back against the woman behind her. The mugger lunged, and she was at least able to kick up and deliver a cowboy boot to his face that sent him sprawling to the asphalt, but that just earned her another squeeze from the rope around her neck.

"Seems like he ain't the one who got in too deep, is he sweetie?"

Clara’s eyes went wide as the other end of the rope looped around the foot she was trying to use to kick back at her assailant. "It's you!"

The rope that bound her feet and her throat tightened, then a booted foot landed in the small of her back and sent her rolling to the ground. She looked up at the so-called mugging victim just in time to see her shake out her hair and tear away her pantsuit to reveal the chaps and bikini underneath. The woman grinned.

"Say my name, sweetie."

"No," Clara sputtered as she tried to pry the lasso from around her throat. "It's stupid!"

The woman pouted. "Excuse you? How is it stupid?"

"It's a sex position!"

"So's yours!"

"Cowgirl's a profession! 'Reverse Cowgirl' is just stupid!"

"It's not stupid! I'm the reverse of you! It's _clever_!"

Clara began to wriggle her ankles out from under the knot binding them together. "If you're the reverse of me why do you still wear chaps and use a lasso? You're just doing the same bit!"

"I wear black and you wear white! I'm like the reverse _version_ of you!"

"More like a cheap knockoff!"

"Oh that is it!" Reverse Cowgirl yanked on the rope, but instead of strangling her nemesis it only revealed that the grinning redhead now had the loose lasso wrapped around her arm. She yanked back, and Reverse Cowgirl was pulled toward her with a shriek. Clara rolled as she fell, grabbing a handful of her straight black hair and climbing astride her back.

"Admit it! You stole my bit! You might as well have just called yourself 'Girlcow'!"

"The only cow here is you!" Reverse Cowgirl spat, reaching back and grabbing rough hold of Clara's plump backside. Clara yelped.

"What the hell...let go of me!"

"You first!"

Clara just tightened her grip on Reverse Cowgirl's hair, their legs winding together as her nemesis bucked under her and managed to rotate enough to face her. Their bodies were grinding together, hands clawing at each other's hair and hot flesh, muscular thighs grappling and sliding and rubbing. Clara bit her lip as Reverse Cowgirl's leg came down between hers hard, riding straight up and grinding and making her hips buck against her will. Reverse Cowgirl's lips parted, head tipped back as Clara tugged harder on her hair.

"Yeah, that's it! Take it...nng..."

"You're going down," Clara grunted, breathing heavily into Reverse Cowgirl's neck as their chests rubbed together, straining against their costumes. Clara's free hand managed to grab one of their lassos—she couldn't even tell which one—and bind Reverse Cowgirl's wrists, and the villain groaned.

"I'm not...going down...you're the one who's...going down..."

Clara's breath and body surged as she forced Reverse Cowgirl's hands over her head, leaving the rest of her body completely at her mercy. She'd never been this close to capturing her before, she could feel it as Reverse Cowgirl thrashed and writhed and bucked against her, a tingling in her gut, _yes, she was so close_...

"Whoa, holy shit! Lesbian BDSM cowgirl catfight!"

Clara's eyes went wide as she turned to find a small group of what she assumed were college kids, watching and laughing and wolf-whistling at the foot of the alley. A few were filming with their phones, while others were shouting suggestions.

"Come on, kiss her!" "Bite her neck!" "Rip her top off, that'll show her!"

Clara fumblingly tried to disentangle herself from her flushed, raggedly breathing nemesis, holding up her hands as she did. "Whoa, okay, wait, it's not...it's not like that..."

As Reverse Cowgirl used the distraction to roll to her feet and disappear down the alley, Clara cursed the interruption and the raw, aching need it had left inside her. As their erstwhile audience started shouting questions about whether she was a superhero and why they stopped and why they didn't just get naked if they were going to do that, Clara sighed.

All she wanted to do was grapple her gorgeous, scantily-clad archnemesis, roll around with her so their sweaty, heaving bodies ground against each other until she was begging for Clara to finish her, and then tie her up, panting and spent and completely at her mercy.

Why did everyone have to keep making it about _sex_?


	5. Powerlass and Dynamo: Family Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two of Superior City's greatest heroines, Powerlass and Dynamo, are about to face their greatest enemy yet: MILD PARENTAL DISAPPROVAL.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Susie "Powerlass" Powers and Jessie "Dynamo" Kapoor first appeared in 'Powerless'.

"Take a deep breath." Susie leaned in and squeezed Jessie's hand as Jessie did exactly that. "You know you're not supposed to be the one who's nervous. I'm the one meeting your parents..."

Jessie rolled her eyes. "You've met my parents."

"Yeah, as your roommate. But now things are...well, you know, different."

Jessie raised her hand to ring the buzzer, then dropped it back down and turned to Susie. "You know we could just say something came up. We could go home, have some coffee, make out on the couch..."

Susie giggled as Jessie's arms wrapped around her waist. "Tell you what...get through this alive, and I can promise you a whole lot better than just making out on the couch..." Jessie groaned, and Susie's head tipped up to look at her. "Hey. This was your idea, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. I just...I want to tell them, I'm...I'm so happy, happier than I thought I'd be, and I want to tell someone, I just...they're so traditional, and things were so...strained when I was growing up, and..."

"Hey." Susie pushed up for a soft kiss. "They'll love you no matter what."

Jessie took a breath, gave her another squeeze, then pulled back to ring the buzzer. "Mummi, Pappa, it's us."

"Come right up, darling," her mother's voice said through the speaker, "We're in the kitchen!"

Jessie's parents lived on the second floor of an old brownstone in the North End, the same small apartment Jessie had been raised in despite the fact that her father owned the entire building. To say they were set in their ways would have been enough of an understatement to make Jessie laugh if she weren't so anxious about the way they were about to test that conservatism.

The door was unlocked, and as soon as they opened it the smell of spices hit them like a tidal wave. It heralded the arrival of Jessie's mother, her old-fashioned dress and giant smile exactly the same as Susie remembered from the first time they met. "There are my two beautiful girls!"

Jessie huffed gently as her mother pulled them into a pair of tight one-armed hugs. "Hi, Mummi."

"Hi, Mrs. Kapoor."

Jessie's mother pulled back with a grin. "It's good to see you, Susanne, you look gorgeous as always!"

Susie pursed her lips. "Thank you..."

Mrs. Kapoor turned back to her daughter with a playful frown. "And I see you're still cutting your hair like that."

Jessie's hand went to her short, spiky hair before she could stop it, a wince on her face. "Yes, Mummi."

Mrs. Kapoor shook her head. "Well, the food's almost ready. Come."

The meal was good. Well, the food was good, like everything Jessie's mother made; the meal was a little tense. They ate in alternating bursts of small talk and silence, punctuated by Susie complimenting Mrs. Kapoor's cooking and Jessie agreeing. Finally, Mrs. Kapoor set down her fork and turned to her daughter.

"So. Jessica. Are you ready to tell us what you wanted to tell us?"

Jessie winced. Susie reached for her knee under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and Jessie took a deep breath. "Okay. Mummi. Pappa. Do you remember when I was twelve, and I...found out? About my powers?"

Jessie's parents shared a tense look, then turned it on Susie. "Susanne. You...Jessica told you about her...ability?"

Susie nodded. "Actually, I..." Susie glanced at Jessie, who nodded. "I have powers too."

Jessie's parents shared a shocked glance, and Jessie squared her shoulders. Better to do it all at once, like a pulling off a bandage. "The truth is, Mummi...Pappa...Susie and I are superheroes."

Mrs. Kapoor's mouth dropped open. Her husband's eyes somehow went even wider. "You...I...what?"

Jessie blew out a breath. "We...we fight crime together, Pappa. Susie calls herself Powerlass. I'm called Dynamo. We help people."

Mrs. Kapoor laughed unsteadily. "Jessica, I...I'm not sure I understand..."

"It's not a joke, Mummi. We..." Jessie reached for Susie's hand and squeezed it under the table. "We're superheroes."

As the silence stretched on, Jessie's grip on Susie's hand just kept tightening. Mr. Kapoor licked his lips. "So you just...run around the city in your underwear punching people, is that it?" His nostrils were flaring, and Jessie winced.

"Pappa, don't get mad..."

"Mad? Why would I be mad? Just because my daughter is running around half-naked trying to get herself killed and flaunting her deformity in front of the entire world?"

"Sandeep!" Mrs. Kapoor hissed, and Susie's back straightened as Jessie's hand tightened on hers.

"It's not a deformity! There's nothing wrong with Jessie! Or me!"

"It...it's not like I chose to have powers," Jessie said softly, and her father rolled her eyes.

"No, but you chose to use them! You chose to live this...lifestyle for the world to see instead of just—"

"Just what, Pappa? Just keeping the best thing about me a secret? Just lying about what I am to everyone I ever know for the rest of my life?"

"Plus her costume's really modest," Susie added, "very traditional."

Mr. Kapoor's lips pressed together tightly. Jessie took a deep breath. "Pappa...you and Mummi always said that your parents all came to this country to make a better life. But...better for who? If I can...if I have a gift that I can use to make other people's lives better, shouldn't I? Isn't that what Uncle Vijay does as a doctor? Isn't that what Mummi does as a chef? Didn't you say you got into real estate in the first place because you were tired of seeing people who needed a place to work and a place to live not get it?" As her father's face softened, she sighed. "How is the way I help people any worse than the way everyone else in this family helps people?"

Mr. Kapoor's eyes flicked to Susie. "You said her costume was traditional?"

Susie nodded. "It's a full-length body suit, with a sari. Oh, and it's bulletproof!"

The corner of Mr. Kapoor's mouth twitched. "A sari?"

"Yes, Pappa."

"You haven't worn a sari since you were a teenager." Jessie said nothing. Mr. Kapoor sighed. "Are you safe?"

"Of course, Pappa. I'm as safe as anyone else. Susie and I...we keep each other safe. I promise."

Mr. Kapoor pursed his lips again, then nodded. "You're a grown woman. As long as...if you're safe and helping people, that's enough for me."

"Me too, darling." Mrs. Kapoor walked around the corner of the table to take both women in a hug again. Then she started laughing. "You know, this isn't so bad. The way you were talking about how you had some big announcement to make and how nervous you were, we thought you were going to say that you and Susanne were...were lesbian lovers or something!"

As the elder Kapoors laughed, Jessie and Suise exchanged a wry glance of silent agreement. _Yeah...maybe next time._


	6. Trevor McIntyre: Proxies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor and Video Kid could have been friends. If Video Kid wasn't a massive red raw gaping asshole, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trevor "Sly Fox" McIntyre first appeared in 'Flying Fox'. Video Kid first appeared in 'Powerless'.

It had started out so simple.

Ironically, they'd almost sort of been friends at one point. Well, 'almost' and 'sort of' being the operative words. They'd gamed together: Starfury, Islands, War of the Worlds, whatever was popular at the time. Then once they recognized each other's usernames they'd started chatting, and once they realized they were both in the Superior City hero scene they started swapping stories. xX _VideoAlphaXx_ didn't exactly advertise who he was, but he didn't hide it either: outside of online games he was better known as Video Kid, the tech and surveillance specialist for the modestly immodest super-league known as the Lions of Justice. Come to think of it, his job was more or less the same as Trevor's, except he went out in the field. Under the right circumstances, he might even have ended up the first male friend Trevor had had in the real world since...fuck, middle school?

But then the cocksucker had to open his big fat mouth.

Big fat keyboard, whatever.

It had all started with one message in the chat. They were playing Starfury, chatting about work while waiting for the star-system-level boss to respawn, when:

 _ **< xXVideoAlphaXx>** said:u _ _no who id pound so f***in hard is blizzard, u no from blizzard and blaze- or whatever i guess shes arctic fox now?_

Trevor had frowned, but let it go. Yeah sure he actually knew Sadie, but they were getting along and to be fair she was insanely hot. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't said and done some shit, even after he started working with Flying Fox and the Vixens. It just made it hard to know where the line was.

_**< ImNoHero> **said: yeah but shes gay, so_

_**< xXVideoAlphaXx>** said:nah bro that was fake, didnt u hear? they like c***! blaze was f***in weathercuck or whatever_

_**< ImNoHero> **said: no dude trust me shes gay, shes dating flying fox _

_**< xXVideoAlphaXx>** said:lol wut thats real? _

_**< ImNoHero> **said: yeah lol _

_**< xXVideoAlphaXx>** said:f*** howd that ugly bulld*** get a hotty like that? r*** her? _

Trevor's fingers had frozen on the keyboard.

_**< ImNoHero> **said: um wut _

_**< xXVideoAlphaXx>** said:u no thats how they do it right? i mean if its not chads its d***s turning all the hot s***s into d***s. dont get me wrong id watch the s*** out of that big t**ty s*** getting r***d but it sucks that shes a d*** now _

And that, to Trevor's surprise, was apparently his fucking line.

He'd written some things back that weren't particularly clever, either in how he worded them or in the fact that he was shitting on a genius hacker, and they'd never actually ended up fighting the boss. Instead, over the next few weeks, his efforts in-game had started to be mysteriously sabotaged. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. So Trevor started to fire back, and well...now here they were.

"Flying Fox to Sly Fox! What the fuck's going on?"

"Just having some technical difficulties," Trevor said through gritted teeth as his fingers sped across the keyboard. All his firewalls weren't worth shit, and mostly he was just furious at himself for not just making his own OS like he always said he would.

Well, no mostly he was furious at FUCKING VIDEO KID FOR HACKING HIS SETUP IN THE MIDDLE OF A MISSION.

He managed to get the web browser back, but he was so focused on keeping the comms up that was all he could manage for the moment. "Okay, hang on, it says...previous encounter data from when Velocirapper fought her suggests her only weakness is getting her..."

"What? Getting her what?"

 _Getting her ass eaten_. God fucking dammit, real fucking funny asshole. "Never mind, let me try something else..."

"Dammit! She's got Kit! I need to know how to get the tentacles off, now!"

Trevor growled to himself as he flew through the edit history. Video Kid was clever, but he was a little too clever; the simple shit that Trevor had to cut his teeth on because of his budget—research, wetwork, social engineering—never even would have occurred to him. Which meant that...

His system cache cleared.

...which meant that right about now Video Kid's bandwidth was all being drained by downloading the 2 terabytes of hardcore gay assfucking Trevor just ordered on Video Kid's Pornsearch account, which he'd hacked about two weeks ago and still hadn't found a funny enough use for. This probably qualified.

"Got it! Salt! Like a slug, it'll dissolve the suit!"

"Copy! Hey you, pretzel cart! I need that...no, the salt! The box, the whole box! Silver, catch!" As the sound of a wailing, now-naked symbiotic supervillainess echoed over the comms, Trevor blew out a breath.

That was a close one.

He hoped Video Kid enjoyed the gay porn. He was probably going to pay for that one down the line. Maybe, he thought as he listened to his teammates celebrating a victory that could easily have turned into a nightmare, it was time to be a little more proactive. After all, hacking into security cameras was what had gotten him into this line of work in the first place, and Video Kid struck him as the kind of guy who jerked off to all kinds of embarrassing shit...

Trevor leaned back in his chair with a grin. The game was just beginning.


	7. Georgia Steiner: Profiles in Superiority, Voodoo Doll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Georgia interviews Tish for what she hopes will be a career-defining new editorial series (and what your author hopes will be an easy way to get some character backgrounds out of the way without slowing down the main stories).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Georgia Steiner first appeared in 'Flying Fox and the Vixens'. Laticia "Voodoo Doll" Miller first appeared in 'Flying Fox'.

"Thanks so much for doing this."  
  
Voodoo Doll took the reporter's outstretched hand with a smile. "Hey, my pleasure. Always happy to get some press." She leaned in with a sly, secretive grin. "Especially from my best friend's girlfriend..."  
  
Georgia blushed. Since she started dating Rosario and Sadie—and she still could hardly believe how that worked out—she'd slowly but surely been meeting their superhero friends. Tish had been one of the first, and it had been a huge relief to both Rosario and Georgia when they'd actually gotten along; well enough, in fact, that Georgia felt comfortable engaging in a little nepotism to get her new editorial series off the ground.  
  
She started the recorder.  
  
**Georgia Steiner** : So the idea is that over the course of this series I'll be interviewing local superheroines, I mean you know how it is, more than half of supers are women but the high-profile industry's still a sausage fest. So I wanted to get some female perspectives, give heroines a chance to talk about their experiences, their backgrounds, the things that make being a female super different.  
  
**Voodoo Doll** : [chuckles] Hell, sounds good to me. I mean shit, I could fill a magazine just with stories about all the superboys who hit on me while we were supposed to be on a mission or whatever. I mean you know, if it wasn't gonna get me sued.  
  
**GS** : See that's a perfect example of what I mean. I bet every heroine has stories about being sexually harassed by her male colleagues.  
  
**VD** : Every one I've met. And that doesn't even get into the stuff villains think they can get away with just because they're the bad guys.  
  
**GS** : Well we'll definitely get to that, but first: how did you get into the industry? And your powers, the green energy tentacles you can make, you're...parahuman?  
  
**VD** : Well...I guess technically. My powers are magic though, not biological. But...I'm not a spellcaster, it's more like I just naturally have one really specific magical ability. There's not really an official term for it because it hardly ever happens. I've heard it called wild magic a couple times, but I think that's technically the term for when a spellcaster loses control? It's complicated.  
  
**GS** : And when your powers manifested, did you start using them right away?  
  
**VD** : [laughs] Oh hell no! I was from a good Christian family, my folks thought I was possessed by the devil or some shit. They had to take me to four doctors and a priest before they stopped freaking out, and they would have lost their shit if I ever used it. No, I was in college when I learned one: how to use my powers and two: that I was bi, and I honestly don't know which one they thought was worse.  
  
**GS** : So college is when you started fighting crime?  
  
**VD** : A little. I didn't even have a name or a costume at first, I was just seeing what I could do. Eventually I got approached by John Henry and the Society of Black Heroes, they kind of showed me the ropes and helped me make a name for myself. Literally. After a few years with them I started soloing, then I joined the Grand Champions.  
  
**GS** : You mentioned being bisexual before. What do you think has presented more barriers to you as a superhero: being queer, being Black, or being a woman?  
  
**VD** : Being Black. Hands down. I mean female heroes get a ton of shit, but there are still a lot of us. And I read this article once that said more than half of all supers are queer. But Black heroes? Hell no. I can count them on one hand. There aren't even that many Black supervillains, just thugs and gang members and shit. I mean think about it, when you were growing up, how many supers looked like you? And I'm not talking like Storm or whatever, I'm talking real-world supers.  
  
**GS** : I mean...I guess it was pretty much just Lightning—  
  
**VD** : Lightning Lass. Right? Most famous Black female superhero in American history's a sidekick. How fucked up is that? And the worst part is I know I'm not doing much better. I'm a Black hero who was made by Black heroes, and I can still only get famous for skull facepaint and 'Voodoo' and shit. And I wish I could be like...Emerald or whatever, but you know I'd just end up getting called Black Emerald anyway. I wish it was different, but...we've still got a long way to go.  
  
**GS** : So what kind of advice do you have to all the Black girls out there who might want to be heroes?  
  
**VD** : Do it. If you can do it, do it. You're needed. By your neighborhoods, the world, most importantly by all the little Black girls who are gonna grow up watching you on TV and know they can be anything.  
  
**GS** : Well I think that's a great note to end this one on. Anything else you want to say?  
  
**VD** : Yeah. To the motherfucker who 'accidentally' ripped open the back of my costume when we were doing a team-up—I'm not gonna say your name, but you know who you are—I know you did it on purpose, and I'm coming for your white ass...


	8. Roman Candle: The Spark in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Move over Powerlass and Flying Fox, Superior City has a new hero...ROMAN CANDLE!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roman "Roman Candle" Davenport first appeared in 'Flying Fox and the Vixens'.

Superior City. Night. Dark. As black and cold as the criminals who prowl its twisting streets, looking for innocent victims. Wait, that wasn't supposed to sound so racist. As _SHADOWY_ as the criminals who prowl its twisting streets looking for innocent victims. Yeah, that's better. But those shadowy criminals weren't counting on one thing...shadows can't withstand the glow of the light!  
  
Huh. I mean, actually I guess shadows are darker when there's bright light? Where was I? Oh, right!  
  
And spreading the spark of light to crime's dark corners just happens to be the specialty of one hero...the greatest, most beloved, most shredded hero in all Superior City...  
  
ROMAN CANDLE!  
  
Rising from humble origins, blessed with the power of fire and lightning to rival the gods of old, he strides across the city, striking down the crime that plagues its streets, its grateful citizens singing the praises of—  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Its grateful citizens singing the praises of—  
  
"Hey, asshole!"  
  
Singing the praises of—  
  
"Get off my car!"  
  
"Whoa, fear not, citizen! I, Roman Candle, am no threat to your vehicle! But from this heroic vantage point—"  
  
"I don't give a shit about your vantage point, moron, I'm late for a date! Get off my car!"  
  
"Okay, you know what dude—"  
  
"Aaaah! Somebody help me!"  
  
"Hold that thought, citizen! That sounds like a job for...Roman Candle!"  
  
Springing into action, the tireless defender of Superior City springs into action, springing into action to defend Superior City once again. The alley is dark and dangerous, but darkness and danger are no match for our intrepid hero! Raising his hands, he lets fly a mighty halo of sparks to light the shadows and reveal the source of the terrified cry for help...a damsel in distress at the mercy of a malicious mugger!  
  
"Stop right there, criminal scum! Stand down, or face the wrath of Roman Candle!"  
  
"Of who? What's with the long johns, you know superheroes don't wear stuff like that anymore, right?"  
  
"Enough witty superhero banter, villain! Take this!"  
  
Roman Candle's mighty fists lay the foul miscreant out in one punch, knocking him unconscious and—  
  
"Ow, what the hell! That hurt! You know what, screw it, no wallet's worth this crap!"  
  
—er, routing him and sending him scurrying back into the night from whence he came and leaving his innocent victim unharmed to shower her heroic rescuer with gratitude.  
  
"Oh, thank you! How can I ever repay you...uh...sorry, what did you say your name was?"  
  
"I'm Roman Candle, ma'am. And you don't need to thank me, it's all in a day's work."  
  
"No, seriously. Who?"  
  
"R...Roman Candle. The...scourge of darkness? Defender of the city streets, mostly between 31st and 33rd?"  
  
"Oh. Oookay, well...thanks. I guess."  
  
"Uh...is something wrong, citizen?"  
  
"No, no, it's fine. I was just...kind of hoping to be saved by someone...you know...else. You know, like...MVP, or the Lash, someone hot and famous?"  
  
"Uh, well..."  
  
"I mean don't get me wrong, you're kind of cute! And you are a superhero, I guess, so...okay, you know what, I'm still into it, let's do it."  
  
"Do...what now?"  
  
"Oh, come on...do I have to spell it out for you? You saved my life and I'm sooooo grateful...if only there was some way I could repay you..."  
  
"Whoa, hey, what are you...hey! That's super flattering, but I have a girlfriend, so..."  
  
"Come on, hero, I spent all night trying to make this fantasy happen, do you have any idea how long I had to wander around in back alleys before I found someone to rob me? You know you want it..."  
  
"Whoa! Hey! Bad touch, bad touch! I need an adult! Uh...Roman Candle, away!"  
  
And with that, our stalwart hero disappears back into the night as mysteriously as he came, on the hunt for more foul criminals who seek to pollute the streets with their foul criminal pollution. Perhaps his next act of heroism will find him fearlessly diving into a burning building to save its helpless residents, or fighting a dastardly supervillain on top of a speeding train, or stopping a gang of genius bank robbers from the only place he can...within!  
  
"Hey, uh, Underwear Man? I gotta close up the cart for the night and I got some leftovers, you know anybody who could eat a half-dozen free hot dogs?"  
  
Ooh, score! Ahem, I mean...  
  
In this dark and gritty city of crime and punishment, only one thing's for sure; whether supervillains or street thugs or grabby damsels or free hot dogs, no challenge is too great for the hero Superior City needs, the hero it deserves, the hero it adores, nay, worships like a god of fire, lightning, and sick abs...  
  
ROMAN CANDLE!


	9. Earth Angel and Wildcard: Strictly Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since her breakup with Flying Fox, Earth Angel's been focusing on work and really needs to get laid. Fortunately, Wildcard of the Lions of Justice might actually be able to help her with both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Britney "Earth Angel" Colfax first appeared in 'Flying Fox'. Whitney "Wildcard" Stahl first appeared in 'Powerless'.
> 
> This chapter is sexually explicit.

Britney hated charity functions.

That sounded horrible, and she'd certainly never say it out loud; who could have anything against charity? Charity meant helping people, after all, and helping people was the whole point of being a superhero!

Except for two things. One: the number of meetings she sat through about brand management and press relations and toy rights seemed to imply that, at least once you got as big as the Centurions, helping people was _not_ the whole point of being a superhero. And two: spending four hours standing around a ballroom with a bunch of other celebrities getting your picture taken and drinking much cheaper champagne than the phrase 'ballroom full of celebrities' might suggest seemed like literally the opposite of charitable.

Maybe she was just horny, she thought to herself as she shifted awkwardly in her skimpy, white-feathered costume. Ever since her last relationship crashed and burned, she'd been living for her work; maybe it was just starting to take its toll. As she watched Weatherman and Weathergirl across the room talking to a reporter—probably about how strong their relationship was and how they were dealing with 'their troubles,' which was the official euphemism for them cheating on each other with Blaze and Blizzard respectively—Britney frowned to herself. If it went on too much longer, she was liable to do something stupid again.

"God I fucking hate these things, don't you?"

She jumped, then turned to find a woman leaning against the wall next to her. She was tall and rangy, another hero judging from the domino mask and the black and orange catsuit decorated with playing card suits. She was also grinning and, unfortunately, just a little bit smoking fucking hot.

Britney cleared her throat. "Of course not. Who wouldn't like coming together with some of Superior City's brightest minds to ensure a brighter future for Michigan's storied but rapidly-shrinking wilderness?"

The woman burst out laughing. "Holy shit. You Centurions toe the party line hard. You just come up with that off the top of your head?"

As the woman's teasing smile continued, Britney gave in and smirked. "It's literally the press release."

The woman held out her hand. "Whitney Stahl. Wildcard. Lions of Justice."

Britney took it, not at all surprised by the strong, hot grip. "Why Wildcard?"

Whitney sighed like she'd had this conversation one too many times. "Okay, so: I have eight superpowers, but I have to consciously activate them. Every time I do, I get a random superpower for a random period of time. It's the worst, most bullshit superpower that ever existed, and they wouldn't even let me call myself Roulette because apparently it's taken."

Britney nodded. "Okay then. Anyway. Britney Colfax. Earth Angel. Centurions."

Whitney smirked. "Yeah, no shit." Whitney turned back toward the crowd, but not before giving Britney's body a nice, long leer. "Hell of a party they put on. What better way to save the bears or the whales or the little baby bunnies or whatever than free booze, right?"

Britney snorted. "Oh, I'm sure everyone here will be more than happy to write a big, fat check for the privilege of getting their picture taken writing a big, fat check."

Whitney looked back at her with a shit-eating grin. "Holy shit. You cynical bitch. I'm fucking offended."

Britney rolled her eyes. "Well then I guess you better make yourself scarce. Besides, cynical would be saying that you're only over here talking to me because you're trying to get in good with an actual super-league."

Whitney chuckled. "First of all, the Lions are an actual super-league. We're just a shitty one that I think Supersonic might actually have started as a tax scam, but you didn't hear that from me." Britney grudgingly gave her an amused smile. "Second, I'm over here because you're a hot, half-naked, bored blond bi chick, and that just happens to be my favorite kind of person. So I'm gonna convince you to sneak off and get completely fucking plastered with me in the hopes that I'll get to raw you in a stairwell somewhere." She held up the bottle of champagne she'd been covertly holding by her side, and Britney smiled flatly.

"You're not very subtle, are you?"

Whitney leaned over her with a grin. "Says the girl wearing a sparkly white corset covered in feathers. You in or not?"

Britney looked Whitney's rangy body up and down, ending on those hungry brown eyes, and licked her lips in thought.

"Oh yes, fuck yes, lick me, lick my clit, that's so fucking good!"

They weren't in a stairwell. They were on the roof of the hotel, because Britney could fly and had standards. Whitney was pressed against the door with her catsuit pooled around her knees and Britney's tongue and two fingers buried in her pussy. Britney moaned as Whitney grabbed her hair and ground her even closer, smothering her in her gushing sex; she hadn't been with someone who fucked her rough for so long, and she'd forgotten how much she loved it.

Britney's free hand slid up Whitney's toned stomach; given Whitney's height she had to stretch a little to get hold of the long brown nipple atop her small, perky tit, but the way Whitney squealed when she did made it worth it. Britney pursed her lips around Whitney's clit, sucking hungrily and relishing the wetness on her chin as Whitney's hips rolled against her face, lithe body completely at her mercy. She could feel Whitney's muscles clenching around her fingers, could feel her frantic heartbeat under her other hand, all telling her that Whitney was about to come. She pulled her fingers free and replaced them with her tongue, her well-lubricated index finger moving back and forcing its way into Whitney's ass. Whitney screamed, hips bucking as her cum flooded Britney's mouth, the eager blonde sucking and guzzling until Whitney's legs collapsed under her. When Britney rose from between her thighs the hand in her hair yanked her in for a sloppy kiss, Whitney's tongue plunging into her mouth to share the taste of her own pussy.

When they pulled apart, both breathing heavily, Whitney was grinning. "Shit. Whoever know you Centurions chicks were such kinky little sluts?"

Britney glared, unimpressed by the attempted needling. "You are aware that Blizzard and Blaze used to literally make porn?"

"Yeah but that's Blizzard and Blaze. You're the wholesome, girl-next-door, head cheerleader Centurion. The one all the forty-year-old dads like to jerk it to cuz you remind them of their daughters' friends..."

Whitney hissed as Britney grabbed a handful of her hair; despite having her suit down around her knees, she'd never taken her mask off. "Maybe I'm not so fucking wholesome," she growled, and Whitney just grinned. Britney yelped as Whitney suddenly shoved her to her back, hooking their legs together and grinding her bare quim down against the overheated crotch of Britney's costume.

"Oh yeah?" Whitney ground down with her hips. "Prove it."

By the time they were finished, naked and sweaty and lying on the roof of the hotel in each other's arms, it was almost dawn. Every part of Britney's body hurt, and the pain was exquisite. She was half-lying on top of Whitney, head nestled in her wiry shoulder, luxuriating in the ache. "God, I forgot how much I fucking love rough sex."

Whitney chuckled. "You're welcome. What's the matter, you used to date that Flying Fox chick, she seems pretty butch. She never just pulled your hair and fucked you 'til you screamed?"

Britney flinched. "It was...romantic. I think we might actually have been falling in love. Then I fucked it up by trying to use it for my career. I always do that." She glanced up at Whitney's face. She still hadn't taken her mask off. "Maybe I just need to say fuck relationships and settle for some nice rough anonymous hatefucking every now and then, you know?"

Whitney was starting to grin. "Yeah, maybe...or maybe you just need to stop falling in love and find another cynical bitch like you who'd kill to get into a career-boosting purely physical relationship with a hot-ass blond Centurion so they can do a shit ton of PR together." Britney looked up, eyes going wide as Whitney's grin kept pace. "I mean, if you knew any."

As the first sliver of sunlight peeked over the horizon, Britney started to laugh. "Wildcard, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."


	10. Chain Lightning and Squirt: Double-Booking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chain Lightning and Squirt have a lot in common: they're both supervillains, they're both kinda douchebags, they both desperately want to be the nemesis of a lesbian superheroine who honestly couldn't give less of a shit. And also, they're both just...not all that great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dylan "Greased Lightning/Chain Lightning" Perry first appeared in 'Powerless'. Squirt and Jenna "Spiderbite" Mace first appeared in 'Flying Fox'.

"I said sit down, fat-ass!"

The security guard dropped back to the floor with a yelp as a length of steel chain swooped over his head, lightning arcing from the links as it whooshed through the air and took out a rack of test tubes and a computer monitor on the counter behind him. As the chain retracted the two researchers clinging to each other under the metal table at the center of the lab whimpered, and the elder stuck her head out.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but please just—"

The two women yelped as the chain in his other hand cracked down against the tile, the snap of electricity making their hair stand on end. The man with the frosted tips and the blue leather jacket—well, and the giant fuck-off steel chains wrapped around his arms, those were pretty distinctive too—looked down at them with a sneer.

"You don't know who I am? I'm Chain Lightning, bitch!"

The security guard just shrugged—because really, they probably should have guessed what with the chains and the lightning—while the older researcher said "Please, just tell us what you want!"

"What I want is Project Dextro. You just finished the first batch, right? So where is it?"

The woman squared her jaw. "You can't just come in here and—" She shrieked as he whipped a chain forward to wrap around her ankle, dragging her out from under the table as her body seized with electricity. Her young colleague scrambled after her, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Stop, stop, it's in the storage unit against the other wall the code's five four nine one three one just stop, please!"

Chain Lightning pulled back his chain, and as the young researcher and security guarded bent down to make sure the older woman was still breathing he turned toward the glass cabinet that held his prize...

...just in time for the ceiling to collapse right in front of it and a screaming ball of neon colors to drop down onto the floor. The guy in the spray-painted football pads and swim goggles righted himself, took one look at the cabinet, and held out the squirt gun in his right hand with a triumphant grin. When whatever kind of acid was in the gun melted the lock into spitting, hissing slag, he threw open the cabinet and grabbed the soda-bottle-sized ampule with a laugh.

"Ha! At last! Project Dextro, the world's most powerful liquid adhesive, is mine!"

"Dude!" The newcomer turned to find Chain Lightning glaring at him. "What the hell? Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"

The guy in the goggles puffed out his chest. "I'm—"

"Squirt!" the younger researcher said with a gasp. Squirt grinned proudly as Chain Lightning scoffed.

"Oh come on! You know who he is?"

The young woman winced. "Well...it's just that I'm a really big Flying Fox fan, so..."

Chain Lightning rolled his eyes. "Great. Another queero. I'm Powerlass' nemesis and she's a lesbo too now or whatever, how do you not know who I am?"

The young woman shrugged. "I know who you are, I just didn't say anything because I thought you were going to hurt me."

Chain Lightning rolled his eyes. "Un-fucking-believable, What kind of a name is Squirt, anyway, how—wait, no, hang on. Give me that! This is my heist, I was here first!"

Squirt curled his arms protectively around the container. "What? No, I got it fair and square! Besides, you're like a lightning guy, or whatever, what do you want it for?"

Chain Lightning looked at him like he was looking at the biggest idiot in the world, which he was pretty sure he was. "I'm gonna sell it on the black market. What are you gonna do with it?"

"I'm gonna use it! A sprayable adhesive that hardens when exposed to air, and once it does it's nearly unbreakable! I—"

"Why are you explaining what it does?" the researcher asked. "We all work here, we know what it does. And he wouldn't be stealing it if he didn't know what it did, so..."

"The point is," Squirt snapped, "With this, I'll finally be able to defeat Fox Girl once and for all!"

"Actually, maybe you could settle that," the young woman asked. "People online can't decide...are you just being a dick or can you like, actually not remember her name?" Squirt blinked. "I mean I literally just said it out loud less than thirty seconds ago."

"Yeah dude that is kinda pathetic either way," Chain Lightning said with a snort, and Squirt crossed his arms defensively.

"Oh, as pathetic as your girlfriend leaving you for another chick and then not even acknowledging you as her archnemesis?"

Chain Lightning turned red. "Well you're not Flying Fox's fucking archnemesis either, cocksucker!"

"How do you know? You didn't even know who I was!"

"Yeah, that's how I know!"

"Is he?" the security guard whispered, and the researcher shook her head sadly.

"He's more like her Kite Man if we're being honest."

The security guard blinked. "Who the hell's Kite Man?"

"Look, whatever, cocksucker, just give me the fucking container!"

"No, screw you! Finders keepers!"

"What are you, five? Give me the fucking glue!"

"Hey, get away from me!"

With the hostages on the other side of the room and it all happening so fast, it wouldn't be until the police reviewed the security footage about an hour later that they could say—between bouts of laughter—exactly what happened. Specifically, that:

a) Squirt had fired his other gun, the one full of regular water, to try to make a puddle that Chain Lightning would slip on when he charged, which he did;

b) causing the chain he was planning to use on Squirt to miss and wrap around his acid gun, flinging it hard enough up against the ceiling as he slipped to crack the tank open against the ceiling;

c) which caused the smoke of the acid eating the ceiling tiles to set off the sprinkler system, the water from which conducted the electricity from the aforementioned chain;

d) causing that entire half of the room to fill with electrified water, the 'electrified' part of which tased Squirt even as the 'water' part shorted out Chain Lightning's powers.

Since it all happened over the course of about four seconds, said cops would have to watch it in slow motion. Over and over again. For purely professional reasons.

The blaring fire alarms and being drenched in cold water had just awakened the elder researcher when another part of the roof collapsed, a woman in a skintight red and silver suit making a perfect three-point landing on the table. The younger researcher gasped.

"Spiderbite!"

The superheroine flashed a grin from beneath her domino mask. "Sorry I'm late. You'd be amazed how much harder it is to get in here once the lockdown starts. Now, what am I gonna do about...you..." As she turned from the hostages to the two unconscious supervillains lying on the floor, her combat-ready hero pose slackened.

"Uh...what did I miss?"


	11. Rosario, Georgia, and Sadie: An Evening In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Putting aside superhero business, Rosario, Georgia, and Sadie had a quiet night to themselves.
> 
> Well, actually a pretty loud night to themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rosario "Flying Fox" North and Sadie "Blizzard/Arctic Fox" Jefferson first appeared in 'Flying Fox'. Georgia Steiner first appeared in 'Flying Fox and the Vixens'.
> 
> This chapter is sexually explicit.

"Hey baby."  
  
"Hey, baby." Georgia and Sadie shared a brief kiss before the former turned toward Rosario, sitting next to Sadie on the couch. "Hey, baby."  
  
"Hey baby." Rosario accepted a kiss too, then turned to Sadie with a smirk. "Hey baby."  
  
Sadie giggled as Rosario leaned in to kiss her. "Hey baby!"  
  
They slid apart to make room for Georgia between them, and Georgia gave her girlfriends a grin. "I really get you two all to myself tonight, huh?"  
  
"Yep, Kit and Vicky said they could handle the patrols for one night." Sadie beamed. "This is so cool! It feels like forever since we've had a date night, just the three of us."

Rosario shook her head. 'Date night, just the three of us'...there was a phrase she hadn't ever thought she'd get used to hearing. "I ordered from the Congolese place, should be here any minute." Georgia and Sadie shared a glance, and Rosario shrugged. "What, you guys like that place!"  
  
Georgia chuckled. "Yeah, it's good, but...seriously, how the fuck did you find a _Congolese takeout restaurant_?"  
  
"I told you, it was when the Grand Champions were fighting King Krab, one of the Krab Kids threw me through the front window. You can ask Tish!"  
  
Sadie smirked. "Yeah, we know, but still...how?"  
  
Rosario just rolled her eyes as they laughed. "See now, this is the part of polyamory no one ever talks about...your fucking girlfriends ganging up on you."  
  
"Oh, poor baby," Georgia cooed as she leaned in to kiss Rosario's neck, "she's got it so rough..."  
  
Rosario let out a soft sigh, then another as Sadie climbed over Georgia so she could straddle both their laps with a grin. "Right? I mean honestly, why does she even put up with us?"  
  
Rosario groaned as Sadie's hand slid up under the hem of her shirt, fingers splaying across the solid muscles of her stomach. Georgia was sucking her neck now, sucking and nibbling and occasionally licking as Sadie's hand slipped higher...  
  
The doorbell rang. Rosario groaned again for entirely different reasons.  
  
An hour later, with half-empty takeout containers scattered across the coffee table, Sadie was lying across Georgia's lap as Rosario stroked her hair. "I don't know. I mean on the one hand...I think it could be really cool for poly people, you know? It's not something you see people talk about. I mean God, I never even would have thought about it being a real thing until you guys...you know. But at the same time...I feel like maybe we're big enough that saying you're dating a civilian, even if you don't say who, is just asking for trouble. You know what I mean?"  
  
Rosario nodded. "Yeah, I feel kind of the same way." She turned to Georgia. "Guess it's up to you."  
  
Georgia shook her head. "Hell, I don't know. Never thought I'd end up dating a superhero, let alone two. I never actually thought about all the crap that goes along with it."  
  
Rosario pursed her lips nervously. "Regrets?"  
  
Since her lips were already pursed, Georgia found it that much easier to lean in and kiss them. "Hell no." She tilted her head as Rosario came in for another kiss, their mouths opening so Rosario could take Georgia's plump bottom lip between her own. Soon, however, the kiss was interrupted by Sadie's hand rising to the back of Georgia's neck.  
  
"Hey. I'm getting very, very jealous down here..."  
  
Georgia pulled out of the kiss with a grin, then bent her head down to look at Sadie. "Oh, sorry, baby. Is there anything we can do to make it better?" Sadie giggled as she pulled Georgia down for a kiss that was just as heavy, if not more so; when it ended, Rosario's mouth was there to take hers too, their tongues flicking together as Sadie let out a delicate moan. When they parted, Rosario was grinning too.  
  
"You know, now that we're finished with dinner we should probably...watch a movie or something."  
  
Georgia chuckled as her hand slid along Sadie's tightly denim-clad thigh. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea..."  
  
Sadie sat up with a wry smile, reaching down to peel off her camisole before wrapping her arms around Georgia's shoulders. "Definitely..."  
  
"Hey now," Rosario purred as her hand slid up to undo Sadie's bra, "I'm getting very, very jealous over here..."  
  
"Well then stop being _over there_ ," Georgia murmured archly, "and start being _over here_." Rosario leaned over Sadie's back to kiss Georgia, her hands and Georgia's both rising up to trace their fingers over Sadie's generous chest as her bra fell away. Sadie's hum of pleasure was swallowed up by Georgia's mouth, then by Rosario's. "If I unzip her can you peel off her jeans?" Georgia asked, and since Rosario's tongue was a little occupied at the moment she just nodded in response.  
  
She heard the snap of Sadie's jeans, then the zipper, then kissed her way down Sadie's neck to her shoulder and then to the outside of her breast as her hands joined Georgia's in pulling the tight waistband down over Sadie's full hips and pert ass. Rosario's eager fingers hooked through the waist of her panties at the same time, pulling them down and revealing said pert ass in all its creamy glory. As Sadie reached up to unbutton Georgia's dress, Rosario straightened up to pull her t-shirt and sports bra over her head, then tug down her shorts and panties. As she watched her girlfriends strip and kiss and stroke each other, she couldn't help shaking her head.  
  
"Fuck, how did I end up in love with the two hottest women in Superior City?"  
  
Georgia smirked at her over Sadie's shoulder. "You got really, _really_ lucky!"  
  
Rosario laughed as Sadie rolled off of Georgia's lap. letting her pull off her dress and underwear just in time for Rosario to dive into her lap, lips and fingers trailing down her chest. Georgia hummed when Rosario took a thick brown nipple between her lips, then moaned when Sadie did the same to the other, a quick flash of her powers making her tongue feel like an ice cube being rubbed over the sensitive skin. Rosario's fingers slid down as Georgia spread her thighs, finding her hot and wet and ready. Overcome not for the first time with the desire to taste that wet heat, Rosario hooked her arms under Georgia's knees to pull her forward and kissed her way down her belly to the tight black curls above her engorged purple lips. Georgia groaned as Rosario's mouth worshiped her, and Rosario let out a matching groan when Sadie knelt beside her, lips nipping at the back of her neck and fingers seeking out her own pussy. Rosario bucked her hips down, luxuriating in both the feel of Sadie's questing fingers leisurely exploring her own sex and the intoxicating taste and smell of Georgia's wrapped around her tongue.  
  
Georgia's orgasm was first, her hand tightening in Rosario's hair and pulling her in to eagerly lick and suck every drop of her sweet juices, but it wasn't long before Rosario's cleanup was interrupted by a low moan as her own honey flowed down Sadie's fingers. Sadie pulled them free, licking a long trail of cum from between her fingers before offering Georgia the rest. That turned into another yearning, open-mouthed kiss, one Rosario slid her way up their bodies to join and mingle the taste of Georgia's pussy with her own. When the three-way kiss ended, Rosario pulled back and looked at Georgia with a smile.  
  
"Let's see...I came...and you came...but someone hasn't come yet."  
  
Georgia turned toward Sadie with a ravenous grin. "Really? I wonder who it could be..."  
  
As her girlfriends pushed her down to the couch, Sadie could only giggle in delight. As their mouths descended on her naked hourglass body, that giggling turned into moaning.  
  
They never did watch the movie.


	12. Inferno: A Dish Best Served Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her defeat at the hands of the Vixens, Inferno finds herself in prison, biding her time until she can make her move...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashlyn "Blaze/Inferno" Young first appeared in 'Flying Fox'.

Ashlyn Young was currently sitting at a table in the prison cafeteria watching Big Lisa swagger off with her fruit cocktail, her nails digging into the plastic even as it began to melt and smoke under her fingertips.

The thing of it was, they couldn't actually stop her from using her powers. Sure, there were drugs that could suppress parahuman abilities; she'd learned about them in her time as a Centurion. She'd also learned that they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a dose, which was way too much to spend on a 'lesser' supervillain like her. They made her wear the itchy, fire-retardant jumpsuit to keep her from doing anything powerful enough to endanger the building, but she still had enough fire that if she'd wanted to she could have burned that fat fucking fruit-cocktail stealing whore to a cinder with one hand.

And then the guards would have rushed in with fire extinguishers, beaten the shit out of her, and thrown her in solitary confinement for a week just like they had the first time.

It had been a few days into her sentence, when one of the big butch lesbos who seemed to run Raven Bay decided to stake a claim on her. Ashlyn, who still hadn't really understood how things worked in prison, had grabbed the hand that was on her ass and set the entire arm on fire. She'd assumed, rather naively, that since she was so used to being alone solitary confinement wouldn't be a big deal. A week later, she'd been willing to do anything to stay out of that little black cell.

At least they'd given her some distance for a while after that, enough for her to figure out how things worked. There were enough supervillains locked up that they tended to run in their own circles, make their own gangs instead of splitting up by race like the neutrals. Raven Bay's supervillainess gang was about twelve strong and had welcomed Ashlyn into the fold shortly after she came out of solitary. They weren't a very impressive group; Ashlyn had never heard of any of them, and even their leader was some bow-and-arrow-wielding villain called Arrowhead whose biggest claim to fame was apparently that she'd been sued by the bottled water company over the name.

"Inferno, let it go," said leader muttered. "It's not worth it."

That was the one good thing, she supposed...this group, pathetic as they were, were the only ones who called her Inferno.

Prison was...well, survivable. Ashlyn was nothing if not a survivor; her time as Blaze, trading her body and her powers for fame and fortune, had proven that. Even playing Weatherman's submissive little mistress had helped her secure her status on the team...at least until Sadie Fucking Jefferson decided to be a jealous entitled little whore and ruin her entire fucking life and run off to shack up with some no-name bulldyke nightcrawler and...well, whatever. Fuck Sadie, fuck her girlfriend, fuck Big Lisa.

That was an option, of course. It would hardly be the first time she'd pretended to be a lesbo to get ahead, though every time she thought back on the days of Blizzard and Blaze she felt her stomach tighten and tried to convince herself she'd never stoop to that kind of disgusting shit again. But in here, to survive...maybe. She'd burned all her other bridges anyway.

"Hee, baby, stop it!" Ashlyn shook her head as the sound of Prismatic's scandalized giggling drew her out of her thoughts and she turned just in time to see Arrowhead pulling her hand out from under the table. She had to fight not to roll her eyes; Prismatic—who had some sort of light powers or something? she wasn't sure—was Arrowhead's girlfriend, and just watching them together made her furious: one more happy little lesbo whore trying to tell her what she could and couldn't do.

As Arrowhead and Prismatic continued their little tickle-fight or whatever and the rest of the gang kept eating, Ashlyn's eyes drifted back to Big Lisa, then to Arrowhead as she and Prismatic started making out. Ashlyn smirked. Maybe getting in good with Big Lisa _was_ the way to go. Not just to get to keep her fruit cocktail, but to get what she really wanted.

After all, if there was one thing Ashlyn knew, it was that she'd been letting holier-than-thou rugmunchers tell her what to do for too long. It was time for her to call the shots.

Inferno dug into her mashed potatoes, a smile growing on her face.


	13. Powerlass and Dynamo: Join the Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lions of Justice try to recruit Powerlass and Dynamo. No, really. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Susie "Powerlass" Powers, Jessie "Dynamo" Kapoor, Supersonic, and Loose Cannon first appeared in 'Powerless'.

"Thanks for making the time to meet with us."

The busty blonde across the table just crossed her arms over her chest while the short-haired brunette next to her looked on, unimpressed. "Yeah, well, we're all heroes, right?"

Supersonic smiled diplomatically. Or rather, what he thought was diplomatically but was actually condescendingly. "I'm sure you two are wondering why we're here." 'Here' was the conference room in the Lions' Den, the official name for the rented office space the Lions of Justice used as a headquarters, and 'we' was the two women on one side and Supersonic and his second-in-command Loose Cannon on the other. "Well I'll get right to the point. Powerlass, Dynamo...we'd like to formally offer you membership in the Lions of Justice."

Powerlass just kept staring, while Dynamo burst out laughing. As the two men fidgeted, she held her hand up to her face and cleared her throat. "Sorry, I don't know why I did that. Guess I was just remembering something unbelievably fucking stupid I heard once."

"Why us?" Powerlass said, lips still pursed but seeming infinitely more credulous than her partner.

Supersonic cleared his throat. "Well, you've become two of the most successful independent heroes in the city over the last year, and the Lions are always looking to support new talent and make the city a better place!"

Dynamo leaned back in her chair. "And this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Wildcard hooked up with Earth Angel and joined the Centurions, meaning you now only have one female member?"

Supersonic winced. "Well, that...obviously the Lions of Justice are committed to fielding a diverse team that can tackle any manner of villain or obstacle, and—"

Loose Cannon leaned in. "We just thought, you know, since we worked together before..."

"'Worked together'?" Powerlass huffed. "You mean that time you tricked me into getting raped by a tentacle-monster?"

Supersonic held up his finger. "Okay, now hold on, you signed an Informed Risk Consent to be on that mission so technically—"

"I think what my partner is saying is that we're done here."

"Oh, come on, cut the crap," Loose Cannon said. "You're too popular to keep being nightcrawlers, you gotta join a league at some point. And it's not like the Centurions are gonna take you."

Dynamo smirked. "Oh I don't know, it seems like they've got a soft spot for heroines you guys can't keep around. Maybe we can ask Pentacle to come with us!"

"Okay, you know what, bitch—"

As Loose Cannon pushed himself up off the table toward Dynamo and Powerlass pushed up to meet him, the combination of his concussion touch and her superstrength proved too much for the steel conference table, which promptly folded in two. Loose Cannon and Powerlass both pulled back sheepishly as Dynamo met Supersonic's eyes with a smile.

"Like I said. We're done here." As Powerlass and Dynamo headed out the door of the conference room past their two sulking interlocutors, Powerlass turned to look back over her shoulder.

"Good luck! I've got a feeling you'll need it..."

As the two superheroines walked down the hall, arm in arm, Supersonic turned toward Loose Cannon with a sigh. "You're paying for that table."


End file.
